[Mich-CPA-Soon]

Hello,

Got done with my last section, REG, last week and just wanted to share my study plan in case anyone wanted to take pieces of it for themselves.

I solely used the Wiley Excel test bank questions. For each exam section I would go through all questions 10 at a time, topic by topic. Once all questions were answered I would go back and answer the ones I got wrong for each topic until all were 100%. As I did this I had word file and made notes for each topic. For FAR I ended up looking at one my old school text books to clarify a few items. I made sure to think about each question, the theory of what it was asking as well as why the correct answer is right and why the incorrect answers were wrong.

Once all MCQ were 100% I would tackle the sims which usually only took a day. The week leading up to the test I would just do around 50-100 random multiple choice questions a day and review my word file making hand written notes. As I was making my notes I made another sheet of things to memorize, like journal entries for the different methods of treasury stock. A few days before the test I would make sure everything I had on the memorization sheet I knew by heart, which was done by just taking a few hours to keep writing it out over and over.

Once the first testlet started I wrote down on the sheets they give you all the notes I memorized and anything else I could remember…this took around 5 minutes but was well worth it.

I studied about 4 weeks for each section, with 5 or 6 for FAR. I studied around 3 hours a day during the week since I work full time and probably about 5 hours a day on weekends. The last 5 days or so before the test I studied around 6 hours a day.

I know this exam isn’t that hard to pass, but feel free to ask me any questions I’d be glad to help.

AUD 8/14/15 - 84
BEC 9/10/15 - 83
FAR 11/4/15 - 85
REG 12/9/15 - 80

[atx15]

I'm also using Wiley to study. Did you use the videos or any type of audio to study? I'm trying to find better ways to absorb the material I guess. I failed AUD and BEC, so I'm hoping to get some pointers for better ways to study. I went through the Wiley test bank for the last two sections over and over again, but it didn't seem to help come test day. How extensive were your notes? And what did they consist of?

AUD - 72, 83
BEC - 71
REG - 74, 77
FAR - Aug 2016

[Anonymous]

Do you have any advice for the REG sims?

[marqzho]

@C.P.A the third

There is not much you could do about the SIMS. I do all the SIMS in Roger IPS and Wiley test bank. They just didn't help me working on the SIMS on exam day. I printed out some real tax form form IRS website, 1120, 1040, schedule A, K-1, etc. They helped to reinforce my concept but none of the forms showed up on my test. I literally sit in the exam for an hour and desperately tried to find some clues in the IRC code. Of course, it just didn't work as well. When I left the center, I didn't even have the courage to look up for the answer to my questions.

Surprisingly, I end up passing that thing. =) In the report, I actually did a pretty good job in those SIMS questions. I would say I will pretty much get the same result if I only worked on the concept and MCQ.

REG 90
FAR 95
AUD 98
BEC 84

[Mich-CPA-Soon]

@atx15 – No I did not really use any books or video. I used one of my accounting books from college (just a few pages to clarify topics) and sometimes I would just google stuff that wasn't clear to me. My notes weren't super detailed. So initially I went through the text bank and any question I got wrong (or a lucky guess right) I would write down the main concept of the question on the sheet.

I don't have the AUD file but look at the links below for the word documents I made. The files probably have some bad spelling errors lol I was typing fast. (Not sure if we can share links like that here?) I think the note route will help you as the notes are basically your weak points and you can review them throughout the day to strengthen your understanding.

@C.P.A. the third @marqzho – yeah there is not a ton you can do to prepare for the sims. some things you'll likely see: be familiar with things that are common pass though items on the 1065/1120s, know how to calculate NOL's and the dividend received deductions, make sure you understand how dividends whether in cash or property are handled, and the Schedule A on the 1040. Printing out forms will help to kinda give you that broad understanding. Knowing how to search the IRC code will also help you if you get in a pinch since the research is available for all questions.

BEC Notes.docx – https://docs.zoho.com/file/kcpn5568917c7573a401891418c294bb3644e

Far Notes.docx – https://docs.zoho.com/file/kcpn5d72ced46f6ec4dcbb5f9c6ba559db4d5

IFRS vs GAAP.docx – https://docs.zoho.com/file/kcpn57a16e2608a2345c6ab113ae1a7a68ebe

REG Notes.docx – https://docs.zoho.com/file/kcpn5ee98b2bac23045aa912b2cd8068ff307

AUD 8/14/15 - 84
BEC 9/10/15 - 83
FAR 11/4/15 - 85
REG 12/9/15 - 80

[Tiesto]

Hi,
It sounds like Wiley worked well for you. I purchased Roger's FAR review only because I'm not sure how this is going to go since I graduated in 2011. Anyway, after reading your Post, I'm convinced to buy the Wiley TB since I've read that Rogers MCQs are considered “easy”.
Did you make your own flash cards? Or notepads only?
It's taking me 2 days to finish 1 section in Rogers review. Listen to lecture, notes, MCQs and reading the book. (Work full time, married, house chores, cooking, etc)
If anyone follows Rogers study plan calendar, how do you do it? Wake up early and study? I'm struggling staying awake after work. I'm on section 5 out of 31. Exam is on Feb 29.

IFRS- how much studying do I need to do? Minimal?

Thanks!

FAR 02/22/16- fail, 5/23/16 retake
AUD, BEC, REG - tbd

[Mich-CPA-Soon]

@Tiesto. I didn't use flash card, just my notes. But I reviewed the notes similar to note cards. I'm not sure if you can see the post I had above, seems like the mods might of deleted it cause I cant see it until I log in. But that post has a link to my IFRS vs GAAP cheat sheet. It's just some basic stuff. I'm sure that list left off some things but it's a good start. I don't think you need to know every detail of IFRS to pass but just get a broad understanding of the differences.

That's why I liked Wiley. They sprinkled IFRS stuff in randomly in each section. I noticed some concepts were being asked multiple times so those things I made a sheet for.

AUD 8/14/15 - 84
BEC 9/10/15 - 83
FAR 11/4/15 - 85
REG 12/9/15 - 80

[greenbreen]

Thank you for sharing and congrats!

[Author]

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